Normalized Text

[Page 1]D.r Cullen

Sir

As I have had a bad State of health this Some time
past I beg Leave to lay my Case before you, [Desiring?]
you would take it into your Consideration, and write
Me your Opinion & what you would Order me to Apply
My Case is as follows

1st About Three years ago taking my passage to Ireland & being
unaccustomed with Sailing, it Came on very Stormy wet
& Cold, and I Staid Exposed In the wet & Cold for the
space of 24 hours & rather over strained myself assisting
in [stocking?] the Vessels, A fortnight after I was Siezed
with A pain in My back & Loss of Appetite which I took
to be from the Strain of working, this happened in the
Month of February 1776 I am at present 36 years
of Age, The pain In my back Continued all the ensuing
Summer Although I Applyed to the Surgeons here they
prescribed nothing that Gave me Ease, In Winter following
& next Summer it Continued A Little better although
I was always In A Reduced & weakly State of bodyIn My 1778 I was Advised by the Surgeons to go to
the Country & Drink Goat milk which I Imagined I
was the better of for the first fortnight. but the last
three weeks I did not Agree So well with it, it proving
too Costive & In the Month of July last the ↑right↑ Side of my
Belly turned As hard as A piece of board for Eight Days
& when it Turned Soft, there was a little lump between
My Loin bone & my Lisk when I percieved it first was
No bigger than A Nut & Grew as big As An Egg before
I Let the Surgeon See it & when he Seed it he told me it
was A Rupture & Caused me to keep it Down by bandages
but Still it Grew till it came to the Size of A Childs
head & he Caused Me to foment it Ten or Twelve times
A Day with brandy Maury flanell and that for the
space of five or Six weeks, but it proved In Vain

[Page 2]

about the Month of January last it Came to Ahead of
its Own Accord & broke at both Ends & run A Great Quantity
of white Matter & & has Continued running ever Since
but not So Large A Quantity as at first but the Matter is
turned of A More thick Substance & being threatned
One Night with A Fever the Surgeon took from me
four Gills of Blood In order to Carry of the Fever but
In two Days after I was Siezed with A fainting fitwhich remained On me About five hours, which
has Weakened me Greatly ever Since and has brought
back the pain in my back that I am neither Able to
Sit rise or walk not withstanding all the medicines
I take which Consists Chiefly of Jesuit bark & port
wine Three times A Day, I always have A Severe
Drouth which never ceases & very variable with
regard to my urine being One Day Red & the other
Day Whitely Coloured & never has An Appetitethe Regimen I follow is A Little Tea & Loaf to breakfast
& fowl broth to Dinner Two Glass of port wine In water
in the Evening with A Little bread & porridge & ale
for Supper

The surgeon would have me Go into A Small Course of
Salivation When I would turn Strong in order to dry
up the Running in my side & to prevent any matter
Gathering for the future but I am So Convinced of
myself gathering No Strength to Undergo the operation
that if you thought of Any other Method of Drying
up the Matter with Safety, it would be more
Dessireable, which I hope you will Do all in your
power to Direct as I am in Such A weak ConditionI Sleep pretty well at night & retains Ordinary Spirits
& would have A tolerable State of health if was
freed of the running in my Side & pain in my back& continued Drouth which nothing as yet has ever
given Me Ease

[Page 3]

I likeways have been troubled with A wristed hand which
I got Leaning back upon A Chais & A young man in
Company threw me over & as I attempted to receive
myself On My hand Strained it & Swelled Immediately
that all that the Surgeons Could Do In this place could
not Lay the Swelling, it is A Year Since it was
Strained & they have tryed A Thousand Different
Experiments upon it but all to no purpose
it has been bled with Lochgills 1 often & has been
held under Streams of water for A month running
About three Months ago it [Beited?] 2below the jointbut Dryed up Again & never took Any of the pain
Out of the joint although it is almost Insufferable
to Bear but can always move My fingers although
with Some pain but Deprived of having any
use of it In Any Shape although it is my right handThere is A Lump On the back of my hand near the joint which
[is] often threatned to Boil. but never Comes to a Head
I hope you will do the Utmost In your power to prescribe
A Cure, there is A Constant Intense heat upon the
joint of my hand I have Inclosed herein A Guinea note
for your advice, which I hope you will do your outmost
In all my Complaints

I am Respectfully
Sir
Your Most humble Servant

Andrew Shennan

Stranraer 19th March 1779

[Page 4]
✍

Doctor Cullen
Edinburgh

A. Shennan of Stranraer
19.th March 1779

Notes:

1: This reference is obscure. It may be the name of the surgeon who undertook the phlebotomy.

2: Reading unclear, but possibly rather rare usage, by this date, of 'beited' to mean "heal".

Diplomatic Text

[Page 1]D.r Cullen

Sir

As I have had a bad State of health this Some time
past I beg Leave to lay my Case before you, [Desiring?]
you would take it into your Consideration, and write
Me your Opinion & what you would Order me to Apply
My Case is as follows

1st About Three years ago taking my passage to Ireland & being
unaccustomed with Sailing, it Came on very Stormy wet
& Cold, and I Staid Exposed In the wet & Cold for the
space of 24 hours & rather over strained myself assisting
in [stocking?] the Vessels, A fortnight after I was Siezed
with A pain in My back & Loss of Appetite which I took
to be from the Strain of working, this happened in the
Month of February 1776 I am at present 36 years
of Age, The pain In my back Continued all the ensuing
Summer Although I Applyd to the Surgeons here they
prescribed nothing that Gave me Ease, In Winter followg
& next Summer it Continued A Little better although
I was always In A Reduced & weakly State of bodyIn My 1778 I was Advised by the Surgeons to go to
the Country & Drink Goat milk which I Imagined I
was the better of for the first fortnight. but the last
three weeks I did not Agree So well with it, it proving
too Costive & In the Month of July last the ↑right↑ Side of my
Belly turned As hard as A piece of board for Eight Days
& when it Turned Soft, there was a little lump between
My Loin bone & my Lisk when I percieved it first was
No bigger than A Nut & Grew as big As An Egg before
I Let the Surgeon See it & when he Seed it he told me it
was A Rupture & Causd me to keep it Down by bandages
but Still it Grew till it came to the Size of A Childs
head & he Caused Me to foment it Ten or Twelve times
A Day with brandy Maury flanell and that for the
space of five or Six weeks, but it proved In Vain

[Page 2]

about the Month of January last it Came to Ahead of
its Own Accord & broke at both Ends & run A Great Qty
of white Matter & & has Continued running ever Since
but not So Large A Qty as at first but the Matter is
turned of A More thick Substance & being threatned
One Night with A Fever the Surgeon took from me
four Gills of Blood In order to Carry of the Fever but
In two Days after I was Siezed with A fainting fitwhich remained On me About five hours, which
has Weakened me Greatly ever Since and has brought
back the pain in my back that I am neither Able to
Sit rise or walk not withstanding all the medicines
I take which Consists Chiefly of Jesuit bark & port
wine Three times A Day, I always have A Severe
Drouth which never ceases & very variable with
regard to my urine being One Day Red & the other
Day Whitely Coloured & never has An Appetitethe Regimen I follow is A Little Tea & Loaf to breakfast
& fowl broth to Dinner Two Glass of port wine In water
in the Evening with A Little bread & porridge & ale
for Supper

The surgeon would have me Go into A Small Course of
Salivation When I would turn Strong in order to dry
up the Running in my side & to prevent any matter
Gathering for the future but I am So Convinced of
myself gathering No Strength to Undergo the operation
that if you thought of Any other Method of Drying
up the Matter with Safety, it would be more
Dessireable, which I hope you will Do all in your
power to Direct as I am in Such A weak ConditionI Sleep pretty well at night & retains Ordinary Spirits
& would have A tolerable State of health if was
freed of the running in my Side & pain in my back& continued Drouth which nothing as yet has ever
given Me Ease

[Page 3]

I likeways have been troubled with A wristed hand which
I got Leaning back upon A Chais & A young man in
Compy threw me over & as I attempted to receive
myself On My hand Strained it & Swelled Immediately
that all that the Surgeons Could Do In this place could
not Lay the Swelling, it is A Year Since it was
Strain.d & they have tryed A Thousand Different
Experiments upon it but all to no purpose
it has been bled with Lochgills 1 often & has been
held under Streams of water for A month running
About three Months ago it [Beited?] 2below the jointbut Dry.d up Again & never took Any of the pain
Out of the joint although it is almost Insufferable
to Bear but can always move My fingers although
with Some pain but Deprived of having any
use of it In Any Shape although it is my right handThere is A Lump On the back of my hand near the joint which
[is] often threatned to Boil. but never Comes to a Head
I hope you will do the Utmost In your power to prescribe
A Cure, there is A Constant Intense heat upon the
joint of my hand I have Inclosed herein A Guinea note
for your advice, which I hope you will do your outmost
In all my Complaints

I am Respectfully
Sir
Your Most humble Serv.t

Andrew Shennan

Stranraer 19th March 1779

[Page 4]
✍

Doctor Cullen
Edinr

A. Shennan of Stranraer
19.th March 1779

Notes:

1: This reference is obscure. It may be the name of the surgeon who undertook the phlebotomy.

2: Reading unclear, but possibly rather rare usage, by this date, of 'beited' to mean "heal".

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